Reading about people in Egypt voting for the first time in nearly 30 years, I thought about my trip to that country last August.
I wasn't in Cairo where the trial of Hosni Mubarak was being held.
I was southwest of there in Sharm El-Sheikh on the Red Sea at a resort.
I longed to witness the trial, but who can complain about a relaxing time on the beach on southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, with views of the mountains and all you can eat and drink service.
The people working at the hotel were Egyptian, but they didn't have much to say about Mubarak. It was Ramadan, so they mostly spoke of how they couldn't eat most of the day, drink or have sex.Sharm El-Sheikh is south of Mt. Sinai. I didn't take the two day trip up to the mountain, but I did take a bus into Wadi Mandar in the middle of the desert.
Camels then took us into an area where bedouins fed us and hosted a dance around a fire pit. There were also telescopes set up to look at the stars. I've never seen the rings of Saturn so distinct.
This historic election comes after mass protests led to the ousting of Mubarak. I like the way this Washington Post blogger put it... "After a revolution, a dictator’s flight and a year of debate, the people go to the polls." It's a two-day voting event, Wednesday and Thursday May 23 and 24. There are 13 candidates. If one doesn't get 50-percent of the vote, people return to the polls.
